As others have said talk to hospital social worker and talk to your medical team to find out what the timeline looks like. You should also be able to talk to your OB about resources for you to support you through this difficult time.

My 35 weeker (barely— it was by hours) just came home from NICU after two weeks. What issues has your baby been diagnosed with? Which hospital are you at? Holy Cross has a special fund for NICU families in need. Ask your social worker. NICU babies also automatically qualify for Medicaid.

Obviously, I have no idea what your baby will need, but I want to say that it isn’t necessarily true that your baby will come home with special equipment or need special care later. It felt like things changed every single day for us.

Most importantly— I hope your baby comes home soon.

If you have insurance you should be ok. My 34 weeker spent 12 days in the NICU and i paid like 500$.

She is 6 and at swim practice now. My one tip is expect reflux and or GERD. I wish someone had warned me

I wouldn’t panic now. I had a baby in the ICU for two weeks and my portion was much less than I thought (I paid $3000 for $400k worth of care). Once you get the bills you should be able to get on a payment plan with the hospital.

Anonymous wrote:OP's baby may not be early enough to qualify for medicaid as a preemie. OP, definitely talk to the hospital social worker - he/she will have ideas!

Sounds like there were other complications though. Most babies that age with no other complications are feed and grow until discharge and don't need anything special. Some never even go to the NICU. But OP is anticipating needing at home care.

kshin29 wrote:My daughter was just born at 34.5 weeks and has to be in the NICU for some time. I had to have an emergency c section and had lots of complications, unfortunately. I was wondering if there are any programs I can apply for that will give assistance (financial and otherwise) to us while she's in NICU and then after she's discharged, being at home and providing her the best care? I know our bills are going to be very high Cross- posting as well! Thank you all.

The hospital should have a program to help patients with devastating medical bills. Talk to the patient coordinator. Is your insurance not covering at least 80%? Talk to thevpatien coordinator and the financial office.

OP's baby may not be early enough to qualify for medicaid as a preemie. OP, definitely talk to the hospital social worker - he/she will have ideas!

not so much financial support but this may be a useful resource for you (and they'll send you a carepackage)

https://grahamsfoundation.org/

Medicaid will fully cover costs for your child and even give you a weekly stipend for things like parking at the hospital. If you have insurance, it acts as a secondary insurance and covers all your copay’s and deductibles. I believe certain birth weights automatically qualify you, but there are probably other ways too. You should ask to speak to the social worker at the NICU.

Call early intervention when you get home. In my state premature babies (I can’t recall how premature they need to be) automatically qualify for services even without other documented delays. You can talk to a case worker about your options.

And congratulations on your daughter!!

Insurance? If not Medicaid will cover NICU costs for your child. Also there can be a lot of follow up and interventions depending on how your baby is doing at home. Definitely talk to the social worker. The good news is 34.5 for a NICU baby is really good! Hope you start feeling better soon too.

Talk to your hospital social worker. They know the resources.

Insurance should pay for most. My 34-weeker spent 11 days in the NICU and the total came to over $120k. We paid around $1000 out of pocket, I think. If you don’t have insurance or not enough insurance, start talking to the hospital social worker and see if they can direct you to programs.

Congrats on the baby! The NICU will be an emotional journey but trust the doctors and especially the nurses. Your baby will be home with you before you know it.

Do you have insurance? I hit my max out of pocket deductible from the birth alone, then never paid anything for the NICU stay. My 30 weeker twins were there for 6 and 7 weeks. Ask to speak to your case manager in the NICU and they will be able to answer any questions about payment plans/insurance/etc. Congratulations on your baby girl. Hope your NICU stay is as easy as possible.

My daughter was just born at 34.5 weeks and has to be in the NICU for some time. I had to have an emergency c section and had lots of complications, unfortunately. I was wondering if there are any programs I can apply for that will give assistance (financial and otherwise) to us while she's in NICU and then after she's discharged, being at home and providing her the best care? I know our bills are going to be very high Cross- posting as well! Thank you all.